Antonia Lujan (Tseme)
Taos Pueblo Pottery Builder and Sculptor
Artist’s Statement
I have been working with the clay of Taos Pueblo,
referred to as Micaceous Clay, for over twenty years. I became a serious pottery sculptor / builder when unemployed, and needed something to keep me sustained. Now it seems it is a hobby and a passion of mine, and whenever I have a vision of something I want to form in clay, I get to work and create what I love.
My Grandmother was working with Micaceous Clay ever since my first memories of her. I was always curious about what she was doing, and paid close attention. That is how I came to know Mica, and its beauty and importance.
This clay of my ancestors has been with me all these years, and I have come to really enjoy what I do. My Grandmother always encouraged me to keep the desire to produce wonderful pottery pieces such as Storytellers, quails, pots of all sizes and shapes,
horses and other animals.
Most of my life I have lived at Taos Pueblo. I did go away for awhile to Boarding School, and then on to higher education. I completed my higher education at Highlands University and at the College of Santa Fe, where I mostly focused on social services. Even though I did not study clay art in college, I feel I am more a pottery maker of Taos Pueblo than a social worker.
In the past few years I have focused on continuing my higher education, and have taken classes at UNM and other schools where I have taken courses to get me by, such as in computer technology, the internet, and e-mail. Currently I am continuing my education in various ways, still coming back to the mica clay and still working with clay whenever possible.
In the summertime I do other things like hiking and exploring, to look for clays and shard to understand the past life of my ancestors. I also like to set up interesting displays and sell my own work, which takes up most of my time.
I also like to travel and see other pueblos and how they live, especially their daily lives, and also feast days and how the pueblos are different. I like to learn about languages and also to hear the stories of their heritage. I am interested in how women lived and how children survived, and in their struggles in the fifteenth century and what their motivations were to continue to strive in the time of wars and atrocities.
Nevertheless, I am interested in my people and how they can develop the keeping of their heritage and language in this time of technology. I hope that with my work as a pottery builder and a woman of pueblo Native heritage, I can encourage others to develop an interest in micaceous clay, and an interest in Taos Pueblo history through pottery building.
Here is a description of some of the mica clay pottery pieces that I love to create:
Storytellers: I make Storyteller dolls to inform people of how my ancestors told stories in the winter time when Mother Earth is put to rest, and we must not disturb her.
Pottery Bowls: These I make to cook in, and to carry water. They are still used among my people at certain times.
Water Jugs: Used by the warriors to carry water.
Matches Holders: Made to hang on walls because they are used for matches and other things used to light the fires.
Contemporary Forms of Pottery with Kiva Step Cut: Made to let people know of the different pieces that I as an artist can create with the clay.
Seed Pot: My people were farmers, and seed pots were pottery that could hold seeds for storage before planting season.
Horses: I create horses and other animals for creativeness, and vitality, and to develop my own techniques as a potter, making animals in my own idea of an animal, and how I can work with the clay.
Quails: Some of my interest that I want to incorporate into my pottery building of the ancient ones is design and painting. These quails are representative of the fine detail that can go into painting of pottery.
In the coming years I plan to create many more beautiful pieces, and I am continuing my work as a Pueblo Indian woman of ancient pottery making.
— Antonia “Tseme” Lujan
